Today's a special day for both metal and music. · 5:02pm Sep 3rd, 2014
(SEPTEMBER 3RD IS THE DAY IN QUESTION; I NEVER PUT A TITLE ON THIS BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT.)
Well, here we are. Today is the 30th anniversary of Iron Maiden's classic album POWERSLAVE!! This was their first record to hook me back in high school, which led to me grabbing a couple of tickets and seeing them for the first time at Madison Square Garden in 2010 for The Final Frontier World Tour. I've been a die-hard Maiden fan ever since, which culminated in my flight over to the UK two months ago for the final Maiden England show at the Sonisphere festival. What a night that was...
While I don't consider Powerslave their peak, it's definitely an influential work that's both a technical marvel and a flawless display of songwriting as Maiden's records usually are. The original tour in commemoration of this release, the WORLD SLAVERY Tour, was Iron Maiden's longest and biggest at the time clocking in at 331 days. On this tour, they played to one of the biggest crowds of their career at the first edition of the Rock in Rio festival in 1985; 300,000 people, which isn't a surprise in the slightest. This album was home to the 13 minute epic "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," based on the ballad of the same name written and published by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798. Iron Maiden's iteration is easily one of the greatest metal songs ever recorded, and it's hands-down the magnum opus of the record; I myself consider it to be one of the best songs from their 'classics' catalog, if not THE best. Alongside it on the disc are other memorable songs such as the title track, Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Losfer Words, Back in the Village, and Flash of the Blade.
Today is a special day. Let's all come together and take the time to listen to these great classics that were penned by Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith on the album that cemented Iron Maiden's standing as the greatest, heaviest band to ever walk the earth. UP THE IRONS!!!
